Chapter 2
The trip back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves was fairly uneventful. Kankuro stepped in a patch of quicksand, and it gave Temari a good laugh to watch him slowly getting shorter as he cursed at her.
The three stayed outside the village, observing from a far. They all knew that if they were to step foot into the village, that they would no longer have a foot to step with. A week passed, and Temari was getting increasingly irritated.
"I want to go back to the village!" Temari exclaimed angrily.
"We can't go back to the village," Gaara said in a matter-a-fact voice. "We have to stay here until we are needed."
This just caused Temari to be angrier. But her fear of Gaara overpowered her anger. So she decided that she would go bathe in the nearby pond to cool off. Sleeping a tree-yes that's right a tree-had not really helped her anger problems, or her cleanliness for that matter. So she grabbed her bag and headed for the pond.
"Gosh, thinks he knows everything," Shikamaru murmured kicking a pebble as he walked along the path. He started in perfect imitation of his father, "now that you're a Chunin, you shouldn't be as lazy. You need take some responsibility, and help your mother more around the house."
"Ha, I'm never gonna get sucked into that whole marriage thing. Women are so bossy, hard headed…." Shikamaru's voice trailed off as he approached the pond.
About fifty yards in front of him was a girl. A beautiful girl. She had her back facing him, and she obviously didn't know that he was there. She looked very familiar but he just couldn't quite put his finger on where he'd seen her before.
She was pulling a few rubber bands out of her hair that had been holding several oddly placed ponytails. Her sandy blond hair fell to her shoulders. Shikamaru watched the girl in amazement. And to his delight-or horror, he couldn't quite decide-the girl started taking off her clothes.
Shikamaru was frozen, he knew that it was horrible to spy on a girl while she was bathing, but he had never seen a naked girl before. It was all he could do to just stand half hidden by a tree watching the girl. Where had he seen her before?
"Damn it," Temari said angrily at the air as she dipped her head backward into the water. "I want to go home. This is so pointless. Why did the Kazekage have to send us?"
Temari told herself that she had to calm down. She took a deep breath in, and exhaled. Her muscles relaxed, and she became aware that someone was watching her.
In the Wind Country, the ninjas were taught amazing survival techniques. Some of these techniques existed for the soul purpose of tracking an enemy, and being able to pin-point their exact location. This was one of Temari's specialties. She had an excellent sense of smell, and very acute hearing.
'Oh shit,' she thought, 'I'm not supposed to be seen here!'
Temari performed some quick hand signs, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Wait, no!" Shikamaru yelled after her, but he knew it was too late. She was gone.
He approached the pond where she had been, and he noticed something placed at the base of a tree. As he drew near it, he realized it was a bag. The girl had left her bag.
Shikamaru picked up the brownsack, and slung it over his shoulder to take back to the village with him.'Who wasthat girl?' Heclosed his eyes, running through pictures of peopleheknew. He couldn't place her with any of them. 'She was so beautiful. I wish I knew her...' His thoughts trailed off as heheaded back into the village.